Socrates the Charges Against Socrates

Socrates The Charges Against Socrates (Apology) The Apology by Plato is an account of the trial, sentence, and death of the philosopher Socrates. The structure of the piece is linear, with Socrates as the first-person speaker for the majority of the work. The first part of the Apology addresses the accusations against Socrates, the second the philosophers' response to these allegations, and the third his sentence and response to his sentence. Of concern here is the nature and truth of the accusations against Socrates.

According to Robert Cavalier ("Ancient Philosophy"), the nature of the accusations themselves arise not from true investigation, but rather from prejudice and misunderstanding. Socrates addresses each charge in turn. The first accusations are general: Socrates is accused of being a physicalist, "investigating things beneath the earth and in the skies" and a sophist, "making the weaker argument appear the stronger. These accusations are not true -- Socrates is neither a physicalist, nor a sophist.

He defends himself by explaining his activities by means of the symbolism of the Delphic Oracle ("Apology," 20c-23c). Socrates makes the point that it is only in being aware of one's ignorance that one can be truly wise. He indicts his accusers by implying that they assume wisdom while ignoring, or in fact being ignorant about their own ignorance. By this argument, Socrates both reveals his own wisdom and fuels the anger of his accusers. Indeed, the accusations grow in absurdity to almost assume a type of hysteria.

The philosopher's accusers found themselves not only confused, but also angered by having their values, beliefs, and indeed wisdom questioned. Hence, they retaliated with more extreme and more specific. Two specific accusations against Socrates in this regard is that he has corrupted the youth, and that he is impious. Socrates directly addresses Meletus, one of his accusers, regarding the charge of corrupting the youth. Socrates argues that the accusation is absurd, as the accusation implies that he is solely responsible for the state of the youth.

Socrates uses the allegory of a horse trainer to explain that he is a trainer, rather than corruptor, of the youth (Cavalier, "Ancient Philosophy"). Socrates' second argument in his defense is that, had harmed the youth, the philosophy that evil begets evil would dictate that the youth would harm him in turn. Being a believer in this philosophy, Socrates would be harming himself knowingly by harming the youth. Regarding the charge of impiety, Socrates argues that he is in fact a guardian of the piety of the City.

He has devoted his life to understanding divinity and in service of the gods. However, being disturbed by hearing the truth from Socrates, those indicted by his very piety accused him of impiety. All of the accusations against Socrates therefore tend not only towards the hysterical, but also demonstrate the guilty conscience of the accusers. Their accusations reflect the ills that they perceive not only in themselves, but also in general society. Seeking the.